UK Troop Withdrawal: Afghanistan To See 3,800 British Troops Leave By End Of 2013

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/uk-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan_n_2330026.html?utm_hp_ref=world



British soldiers serving in the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) attend Britain's Veterans Day ceremony at a NATO base in Lashkar Gah, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012.

UK Troop Withdrawal: Afghanistan To See 3,800 British Troops Leave By End Of 2013
By PAISLEY DODDS and CASSANDRA VINOGRAD 12/19/12 09:00 AM ET EST AP

LONDON -- Prime Minister David Cameron announced Wednesday that about 3,800 British troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2013.

Around 5,000 will remain into 2014, Cameron told lawmakers. The announcement comes after a lengthy video call Tuesday between Cameron and President Barack Obama.

There are about 60,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Cameron said the decision reflects an increasing confidence in the Afghan National Security Forces. After 2014, some troops will stay on to return equipment and deal with logistics but no details on numbers have been finalized, he said.

"We've said very clearly; no one in a combat role, nothing like the number of troops there are now," Cameron said. "We've promised the Afghans that we will provide this officer training academy that they've specifically asked for. We are prepared to look at other issues above and beyond that, but that is the starting baseline."

[Sherman A1]

1. Long overdue

it's time to get all the troops out of there.